Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-11-14

though poor man yet his fellow ooclallsts
had not failed to remember him. Then
came the funeral carriage of Albert Par
sons. On the box by the driver sat man
holding in his hands floral emblem OF
such immense size that the inscription OF
the flowers 'From K. of L. Assembly No.
1907" could be seen one hundred feet away.
This is the assembly to which Parsons be-
longed until he was kicked out for adhe-
renee to the cause OF Socialism. On the
coffin instead of great sash OF red thrown
across it, there was simply q
strip of red silk ribbon, which was
trailed carelessly from the head Of the
casket to almost the centre, and was then
strung along the floor of the hearse until it
wound itself into little heap at the foot
Then came along another cohOrt OF Central
Labor Union butchers and bakers and
representatives of all sorts of trades. Be
hind these were drawn the hearses con-
tanning the bodies of George Engel and
Louis Lingg. Over both collins were the
inevitable red banners. Several floral
pieces were carried behind by stalwart
men. All through this, which may be
called the first partol the demonstration,
were interspersed the carriages containing
relatives and few near friends of the dead
Anarchists.
The next feature of the procession was
the
TURNOUT OF PEOPLE
who followed after the hearse. As they
swung along into Lake street not a
word was uttered by those in the ranks,
or those on the corners. The respect shown
by the police for those in the parade was
remarkable. Only eight officers were sta
toned at this historic corner, to keep the
crowd back from intruding.
A most noticeable feature OF this part of
the pageant was the showing made by the
two local assemblies of Knights of Labor,
composed wholly of women. Each one Of
these were afame with red. Scarlet in
their hats bows of crimson at their throats,
and long streamers of crimson from their
shoulders, made the appearance of the
working women the object of special COM
ment. The carriages reached the Wiscon-
sin Central depot twenty minutes ahead
of the marchers of the procession. The
cOffins of the four men were borne on the
shoulders of the pail bearers. through a
side entrance to the depot, and deposited
in a combination baggage and smoking car
to which was attached an engine, ready to
start for Waldheim csmetery.
In the first passenger coach on the first
train were the mOurners. In this were
Captain Black, Nina Van Zant, Mrs. Spies
(August's mother, Gretchen, his sister,
and Ferdinand and Chris, the two brothers,
Mrs. Parsons, Mrs. Engel and her children
and Mrs. Fisher and her two babies. No
outsiders were allowed to intrude on the
privacy of the mourners. The next coach
was chartered by the Aurora Turnverein.
In ii, by courtesy, seats were given to
Mrs. Captain Black and her adopted boy,
Mrs. Schwab and Mrs Fielden, Mrs. Mary
Holmes, a few other female friends and
Associated Press representatives. The rest
of the ears were filled with miscellaneous
thrODg who
FILLED EVERY SEAT,
and so completely Choked up the aisles
that it was impossible to move about
Three other trains were made up, and yet
all who would liked to have gone to
the cemetery could not be accommodated.
In all forty coach loads were taken out
All along the route crowds assembled to
see the train rs it passed. There were no
incidents of special note, and when the
train halted ut the road leading TO the
cemetery, the passengers rushed out of the
cars and ran pell nell to the burial
grounds. A band with crimson faced
uniforms led the way, with the most
mOurnful dirge of the day.
High on shoulders OF their Old-time as
sOciates were the black coffins Of the An
archiSts each half hidden by draping OF
flaming red. When the five cOrpses were
once inside the cemetery, a bell was heard
tolling, but in a quick agitated manner
that reminded many of the name of Par
sons fierce mouth-piece, the Anarchist
Harm.
The relatives of the dead men were
quickly gathered beside Capt. Black on
the platform, but in the gathering dark
ness the only features that could be dis
cerned were the cleaning eyes of Parsons
wife, the pale agonized brow of Nina Van
Iandt and the gross looking form of Ida
Fridel, Louis Lingg's girl. Without any
preliminaries whatever, Capt. Black began
the first of the funeral oratlOns.
1t was cOuched in elegant periods,
but had no more effect on
his listeners, than had the
INSCRIPTION on THE GRAVE STONES
scattered about. He said: "What is
truth? Through eighteen centuries and
more, the answer of that loyal, that
glorious one of Nazareth, to that question,
was in these words: i am truth And
no man knows truth until it has become
the inspiration of his life, and he is
crowned in death These men have kept
loyal to the convictions that entered into
their lives. am not here this afternoon
to speak to you any special words concern
ing the cause for which these men lived,
nor concerning the manner of their
taking of, but to speak to you like friend,
to tell you that that cause which COM
manded their services was sealed at last by
their lives, with unStinted measure for the
sake of those that they loved. You know
how graudly they passed out of this lite
into perfect and glorious life that is be-
yond the reach of misiudgment. We are
not here beside the caskets of felons con-
signed to an ignOminious death. No, we
are here beside the bodies of those who
were sublime in their self sacrifice and for
whom the gibbet became the glorious
cross. They have been painted and
presented TO the world as men loving
violence and riot, and bloodshed, for its
own sake. Nothing conld he further from
the truth. They were men who loved
peace, whose hearts were full Of tenderness,
who were loved by those who knew them,
trusted by those who came to understand
the glory and power of their lives, and the
anarchy of which they spoke and taught,
what was it but an attempt to answer the
question After the revolution what?'
They believed that there was that Of wrong
and hardship in the existing order which
pointed to conflict, because they believed
that
WOULD NOT SURRENDER
peaceably, and of its own motion to right
eOusness. And the whole of their thought
of their philosophy as anarchists, was the
Of an order of society that
should be symbolizsd in the words, Order
without force Is it practical? know
not. They thought it was. know that
it is not practical now. But know also,
as q philosopher and christian, under the
inspiration of love, that Gay will come